Trump promises to order that the US pay only the price other nations do for some drugs
WASHINGTON AP President Donald Trump says he ll sign an executive order on Monday that if implemented could bring down the costs of selected medications reviving a failed effort from his first term on an issue he s talked up since even before becoming president The order Trump is promising will direct the Department of Medical and Human Services to tie what Medicare pays for medications administrated in a professional s office to the lowest price paid by other countries I will be instituting a MOST OF FAVORED NATION S GUIDELINES whereby the United States will pay the same price as the Nation that pays the lowest price anywhere in the World the president posted Sunday on his social media site pledging to sign the order on Monday morning at the White House Our Country will decisively be treated fairly and our citizens Healthcare Costs will be reduced by numbers never even thought of before Trump added His proposal would likely only impact certain drugs covered by Medicare and given in an office think infusions that treat cancer and other injectables But it could potentially bring substantial savings to the ruling body although the TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS Trump boasted about in his post may be an exaggeration Medicare provides healthcare insurance for roughly million older Americans Complaints about U S drug prices being notoriously high even when compared with other large and wealthy countries have long drawn the ire of both parties but a lasting fix has never cleared Congress Under the planned order the federal cabinet would tie what it pays pharmaceutical companies for those drugs to the price paid by a group of other economically advanced countries the so-called majority of favored nation approach The proposal will face fierce opposition from the pharmaceutical industry It was a rule that Trump tried to adopt during his first term but could never get through He signed a similar executive order in the final weeks of his presidency but a court order later blocked the rule from going into effect under the Biden administration The pharmaceutical industry argued that Trump s attempt would give foreign governments the upper hand in deciding the value of medicines in the U S The industry has long argued that forcing lower prices will hurt profits and ultimately affect innovation and its efforts to develop new medicines Only drugs on Medicare Part B the insurance for medical practitioner s office visits are likely to be covered under the plan Medicare beneficiaries are responsible for picking up a few of the costs to get those medications during clinician s visits and for traditional Medicare enrollees there is no annual out-of-pocket cap on what they pay A summary by the Trump administration during its first term located that the U S spends twice as much as specific other countries in covering those drugs Medicare Part B drug spending topped billion in More common prescription drugs filled at a pharmacy would likely not be covered by the new order Trump s post formally previewing the action came after he teased a very big announcement last week He gave no details except to note that it wasn t related to agreement or the tariffs he has communicated imposing on much of the world We re going to have a very very big announcement to make like as big as it gets Trump announced last week He came into his first term accusing pharmaceutical companies of getting away with murder and complaining that other countries whose governments set drug prices were taking advantage of Americans On Sunday Trump took aim at the industry again writing that the Pharmaceutical Drug Companies would say for years that it was Research and Enhancement Costs and that all of these costs were and would be for no reason whatsoever borne by the suckers of America ALONE Referring to drug companies powerful lobbying efforts he explained that campaign contributions can do wonders but not with me and not with the Republican Party We are going to do the right thing he wrote Source
